Dear friends Our last two letters, Self-Doubt and Success, and Excellence and Leadership, went longer than usual, so this week’s letter is briefer. /strategy Last week’s letter gave us four catalytic leadership habits courtesy of strategy guru Jim Collins. If…
Dear Friends In this Tim Ferriss interview about his new book – The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness – Harvard professor Arthur Brooks offers unexpected advice: “Stop looking for your significance at the macro…
Dear friends, Today is the year’s last letter. We will gather here again on 18 January 2026. It is ‘best books of 2025’ season. My favourite lists are the Financial Times and NPR’s. NPR’s “Books We Love” is particularly cool…
Good morning dear friends This community loves learning, loves reading, loves books. You understand that different perspectives create richer possibilities. You’ll love this list – acclaimed Zimbabwean novelist, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s favourite African novels. Whilst speaking of African authors, this is one…
Good morning friend This week’s letter continues our exploration of Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. If this is your first time here, welcome. Last week’s letter explored Guidara’s philosophy about culture.…
Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect is the inspiration for this week’s letter. Roger Martin, co-author of Playing to Win, one of the world’s best strategy books, describes it as, “One of…
Good morning dear friends Four years ago, Jerome September, the University of the Witwatersrand’s Dean of Student Affairs, started a postgraduate reading club. This year they’ve been reading No Last Place to Rest by Dr Dineo Skosana. Immense possibilities are…
Dear Friends Before we get started, thank you to everyone who commented on my new website copy and, in particular, on the curated leadership learning journeys I’ve been piloting. There’s work to be done! I appreciate the generosity with which…
Dear friends My coaching practice has, as it should and all things do, evolved since I started it in September 2019. I recently rewrote my website’s copy to reflect those changes. If you have the time, I’d appreciate your…
Good morning good friends /strategyLast week’s letter introduced you to John Kay’s The Corporation in the 21st Century. It’s a sprawl of a book collecting thoughts, analysis and occasional scathing asides about how business has evolved and what we get wrong…
Dear friends /strategyVivian Gornick, in her acclaimed book on writing great non-fiction The Situation and the Story observes, “Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the…
Dear friends Strategy, Soul & Self weaves together three threads, I believe are essential to leadership and life. First, the ability to hold a compelling vision — and translate it into social and organisational reality. Second, the awareness that no…